Our 2019 started out in amazing fashion as we made a trip to Hong Kong. It is a collection of islands that, while feeling similar to Shanghai in some ways, is still definitely not a part of mainland China. The language, electric plugs, phone carriers, money, and apps are all different and because of the British connection, they drive on the opposite side of the road and car.
Our first day was fun filled and packed to the brim thanks to our friend, Esther. She grew up in Hong Kong and it was awesome to have a Cantonese-speaking local help show us the ins and outs of the city. We saw amazing Christmas displays, went to the Victoria Peak, got to bypass the hour-long wait at a fantastic restaurant (as Esther's grandfather owned it), went to Stanley beach, found a lot of local shopping, took the ferry across the harbor, ate ice cream, and learned a lot about other aspects we wouldn't have known. She was an outstanding host and it was a pleasure to catch up with a friend we were sad to see leave Shanghai for California.
Day 2 was much slower as we were all pretty tired so we took in the giant flea market near our hotel. After a nice rest we headed downtown to walk through Kowloon park and see some of the sites around the city.
On Day 3 we headed slightly north to see what secrets were hiding up there. We found Snoopy's World which gave these St. Paul peeps wonderful memories of the good ol' Camp Snoopy days. Nina had fun reenacting some of her favorite comic strips. The 10,000 Buddhas Monastery was an interesting site with some cool views and monkeys wandering around. Our favorite stop on this trip was the Hong Kong Heritage Museum which had many interactive exhibits for the girls, stunning antiques, and a Bruce Lee exhibit which featured many of his works as well as many personal items from his movie sets.
Our last day we had originally planned to visit Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island, but due to poor weather and a combination of luggage struggles, we took it easy along the West Kowloon coast. With gorgeous weather and some great food, we enjoyed a lazy wander. As a positive end to the trip we met up with some other Shanghai friends who have moved to Hong Kong, Mel and Oona. It was great to catch up and hear their thoughts on the transition. To top it all off, a final bonus for our send-off was running into a restaurant we always went to with Nana and Papa, Popeyes! While heading to the gate, Nina and Ben both gasped as they caught sight of someone's Popeyes' wrapper and even though we had already eaten dinner, we made sure to eat again once we found it.
It was a good vacation and nice to get to a spot we'd been hoping to visit. We're trying to take advantage of our location while we're here. We're now ready to get back to our normal routine and the girls are excited to see friends at school again. But in a month, we'll be ready for the next New Year's celebration as we head to Japan!
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